September 03, 2005
Senior All-American Laura Jones was named tournament MVP after leading No. 16 Texas A&M to a 3-0 record and the tournament title at the Texas A&M/McDonald's Invitational at G. Rollie White Coliseum.
The Aggies didn't drop a game throughout the two-day event, although Virginia pushed A&M to the limit in front of 1,835 attending the final match of the tournament. A&M made several comebacks and held off the Cavaliers, 30-22, 35-33, 31-29, to improve to 5-0 on the season.
"We had been down and we were having to battle point for point," A&M coach Laurie Corbelli said. "We came through in every single one of them."
There were six ties and two lead changes in the first game. Virginia took its first lead at 8-7 following a kill by Emily Kirkwood, but a Cavalier service error and a dump kill by A&M's Meghan Kainz put the Aggies back on top. Lindsay Osco answered with a kill to tie the score before A&M got back-to-back kills by Cristin Burton and Jones. The Aggies began to slowly pull away, three times reeling off three straight points, including a three-point run to end the game.
A&M built its biggest lead of the second game at 22-15, but four consecutive hitting errors cut the lead to 22-19. A Cavalier serve into the net and kills by all-tournament selection Christi Hahn and Jones put A&M up, 25-19. Virginia then mounted a comeback, scoring six unanswered points to tie the score. The Cavaliers also knotted the score at 26, 28, 29 and 30 before a kill by Shannon Davis gave them their first lead since a 9-8 advantage. A serve into the net and a solo block by Meghan Kainz put A&M back in the lead. The teams exchanged points until, with the score tied at 33, Jones registered back-to-back kills to give A&M the win.
"Laura is one of the best in the United States," Corbelli said. "And even though she had some struggling moments in this particular match, it never worries me because I know she can pull it all together. Once she puts her mind to something, it is pretty much over, and she can get it done. I've seen that time and time again, not only this weekend, but over the years, so even though in the midst of someone trying to stop her, and they worked really hard to do so, she found a way out and found a way to continue to lead the team. That is probably more important to me than anything at this point is that our leadership is still there."
Virginia held its biggest lead of the match at 23-19 in the third game, but two Jones kills bordered by a Hahn kill and ace tied the score. A&M also tied the score at 24, 26, 27 and 28 before a cross-court kill by Burton pushed the Aggies into the lead. Following a service error, Burton got a solo block and Kainz and Hahn teamed for another block to clinch the match.
Jones, who averaged 6.0 kills and 6.93 points per game in the tournament, led the Aggies with 22 kills and added 15 digs. Kendra Felder finished with 15 kills, one shy of her career high, and Hahn added 11 kills and led the Aggies with four blocks and three aces.
Aggie libero Holly Clay joined Hahn on the all-tournament team, securing the honor by posting a career-high and match-high 22 digs against the Cavaliers. The senior averaged 5.62 digs per game in the three matches.
"Holly has had an incredible weekend and I was so glad she was awarded all-tournament," Corbelli said. "To have her get that was very much deserved and it is great for her confidence."
Davis, a former teammate of Kainz and Kelsey Bryant's at Westlake High School in Austin, Texas, led Virginia with 12 kills and a .409 hitting percentage. All-tournament selection Sarah Kirkwood added 11 kills.
The Aggies had clinched at least a share of the tournament title earlier in the day, setting an all-time record for fewest points allowed in a match after holding Lehigh to 40 total points in a 30-9, 30-16, 30-15 victory. It marked the second time this season A&M broke the record as the Aggies allowed a then-record 42 points against Prairie View A&M in the season opener.
All 14 A&M players saw action in the win. Bryant led the Aggies with 11.5 points, setting career highs with four kills, four aces and four blocks. As a team, A&M tallied season highs of 13 aces and 11 blocks and held the Mountain Hawks to a -.194 hitting percentage.
The Aggies make their first road trip of the season Tuesday when they head to Huntsville to take on Sam Houston State. Match time is 7 p.m. at Johnson Coliseum. A&M then faces its toughest competition of the season as the Aggies take on Florida, LSU and Southern California at the UTSA Dome Rally at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Sept. 9-11. USC and Florida are ranked seventh and eighth, respectively, in the CSTV/AVCA Preseason Top 25 Poll. The tournament represents A&M's final tune-up before beginning Big 12 Conference play Sept. 14 at Kansas.
Texas A&M/McDonald's Invitational Honors:
Tournament MVP: Laura Jones, Texas A&M
All-Tournament Team: Kaui Salzman, Saint Mary's; Mandy Bible, Saint Mary's; Sarah Kirkwood, Virginia; Beth Shelton, Virginia; Holly Clay, Texas A&M; Christi Hahn, Texas A&M
Tournament Standings:
Texas A&M 3-0
Saint Mary's 2-1
Virginia 1-2
Lehigh 0-3
Final standings/results:
Texas A&M 3-0
Saint Mary's 2-1
Virginia 1-2
Lehigh 0-3
Friday, Sept. 2
No. 23 Saint Mary's def. Lehigh, 3-0 (30-22, 30-17, 30-16)
Virginia def. Lehigh, 3-0 (30-15, 30-20, 30-19)
No. 16 Texas A&M def. No. 23 Saint Mary's, 3-0 (30-24, 30-25, 30-23)
Saturday, Sept. 3
No. 23 Saint Mary's def. Virginia, 3-1 (26-30, 30-13, 30-16, 30-15)
No. 16 Texas A&M def. Lehigh, 3-0 (30-9, 30-16, 30-15)
No. 16 Texas A&M def. Virginia, 3-0 (30-22, 35-33, 31-29)